


Vogue

by buttered_onions



Series: Voltron: AU Fills [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura (Voltron)-centric, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, tumblr requests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 07:51:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8836408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttered_onions/pseuds/buttered_onions
Summary: Voltron, the major fashion label, takes a hit. Luckily, Allura's stubborn.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A smol!shiro break! In celebration of a tumblr milestone, I'm filling AU prompts for Voltron. I have a handful more of mini-AUs to write and post over the next few weeks, likely as standalone stories. I post them first on my [tumblr](http://butteredonions.tumblr.com), so if you want them hot off the press, come say hello and follow along!
> 
> This ficlet was prompted by glitter_lisp, who wanted a Voltron!Fashion AU. Un'betaed; all mistakes are gleefully mine. Enjoy!

**0.** Successful?

They’ve been through some tough times in the last year; there’s no denying that. Allura’d be the first to say. “Success” is a matter of opinion and perspective, that can’t be measured solely in the financial columnn. Do people know them? Do people wear their brand? Does “success” mean being better than the major competitor, who exports most of their work, threatens, underpays, steals designs? Does “success” mean keeping the lights on, breaking even, or being famous? Does “success” mean money, or treating employees with fairness - or somehow, artistically, ethically, and _honestly_ , making a difference?

Successful?

They’re getting there.

They have to be.

 

 **1.** _Voltron_ is Allura’s label now, surprising exactly no one. 

She took over the business after her father passed away from aggressive cancer, too soon, too young. Despite studying fashion and business, graduating early with both degrees and a wealth of experience, the actual death of her father catapulted her into the limelight in a way Allura wasn’t entirely prepared for. The business underwent some rocky times immediately following when an academic education failed to cover several gaps the real industry highlighted in stark and ugly ways, resulting in major staff layoffs, plummeting publicity, and the early closure of some of their storefronts while Allura struggled to keep her head above water. Fortunately Allura is nothing if not resistant, and a fast learner. She refused all attempts at a buyout, a fact that Zarkon’s label, _Galra_ , has never forgiven her for. After a truly horrific year, Allura eventually found and fired the mole in her staff selling ideas back to their rival, established an all-new core staff, and is slowly but surely taking _Voltron_ back to the top. Allura will make a name for _Voltron_ again. She _will_.

 

 **2.** A good leader still needs a good manager. Naturally that’s where Coran comes in.

Coran keeps the books, the payroll, the accounts, the contracts and everything else in tip-top shape. He’s been on board with _Voltron_ in one way or another since day one, though he didn’t fully join up with the cause until recently. A prestigious if eccentric accountant and businessman, after Alfor’s death Coran quietly shuffled most of his clients off to colleagues, quit the office, and transferred his exceptional skills over to _Voltron_. What started as an assist has quickly grown into a passion. Coran fancies himself fully able to help out in every department, a fact unfortunately not true. Sure, he has the contacts to hire out when they need more help; he has the savvy to calm Keith down when Lance refuses again to wear the stupid hat in the shoot; if something goes wrong even down to the exploding faucet in the break room Coran’s the one they call. Unfortunately his talents don’t extend to the actual design process, but he does so much for them no one really has the heart to tell him. He’s known to pop into the design studio with half a dozen fully finished sketches spilling out from under his arm, each one more ludicrous than the next. The design team has yet to actually implement a full one of Coran’s ideas; Hunk’s great at placating him and can usually find some aspect of Coran’s to incorporate into something or other. It’s a small price to pay.

 

 **3.** Hunk sews.

He’s fast, and he’s good, his large fingers especially nimble and wicked behind the sewing machine. He and Pidge make a terrifying dream team; Pidge was probably supposed to start as an intern, but skipped that step entirely. She marched straight into headquarters with her resume tucked under her arm and samples of her work in her backpack on the exact day Hunk’s assistant quit. Leaving from her interview with Coran, Pidge saw Hunk’s assistant storming out (not that it was hard, with how loudly the soon-to-be _ex_ -employee was yelling), demanded a trial, plopped herself right down in the sewing room, and not only took over with no instruction but made the construction of the “complicated, cursed, craptastic” garment _better_ as a result. She’s one of those seamstresses who can pick apart even the worst designer’s scribbles and turn it into something well-made and exquisite. She and Hunk get on like a house on fire, which makes sense considering they’re alumni from the same technical institute. Allura’s still not convinced Pidge’s ‘interview’ was a coincidence.

 

 **4.** Lance models, naturally.

Allura has yet to find a design that _doesn’t_ look good on him, from the avant-garde to the ready-to-wear and, heaven help her, the _swimsuits_. Not to mention the _suit-_ suits; that line flatly shattered production records once Lance came on board. Keith’s the photographer, which is nearly as perfect a recipe for total disaster as one would expect, except somehow…it’s not. The first shoot alone was nothing but hot insults and slander flinging through the air the entire time Keith was working, Lance snapping back retorts as fast as Keith gave. Allura’d been this close to calling the whole thing off, yet somehow the images came out crystal clear and undeniably exceptional.

“We are a good team,” Lance huffed, when pressed. Keith’d just snorted, and snapped at Lance to stop unbuttoning things and stand still for one bloody second. The cheeky grin Lance shot him sold _so many_ of those shirts it’s almost embarrassing.

Keith’s not bad at being _in_ pictures, either, though his bull-headed refusal to do so is nearly legendary. It’s not as legendary as the day Lance’s model-partner wasn’t booked, through some twist of fate and miscommunication, and the only person who could fit into the second suit on the tight deadline was Keith.

Turns out the only thing worse than having Keith and Lance on opposite sides of the camera is having them on the _same_ side. The resultive squabbling drove Coran off set, hands thrown up in frustration; Allura lost count of the number of times Shiro took Keith aside to talk to him, voices low and heated. But somehow one perfect image, snapped nearly on accident - Lance, cross-eyed with stunned surprise as Keith, ever with the aesthetic eye, reached up to adjust his crooked bowtie, brow furrowed in near gentle concentration - somehow this image was leaked, _exploded_ into the industry, ended up on the cover of a prestigious fashion magazine, and frankly skyrocketed their sales. Both Keith and Lance pretend to hate it. Allura has the original framed in her office.

(Matt, Coran’s assistant, will swear to his dying day he doesn’t know how the second model was never booked. Pidge just cackles.)

 

 **5.** One of these days Allura will get Shiro in front of the camera instead of behind it.

Shiro oversees the shoots, fully content to coordinate and casually organize from behind the scenes, lingering behind the screens and suggesting changes to layout, angle, lighting. His aesthetic simply can’t be matched. Allura can’t find any fault with his work, of course; the only unfortunate aspect is that Shiro’s uncanny sense for a _perfect_ composition also extends to a sixth sense for knowing when Allura’s about to ask for a “favor.” Somehow he always disappears at the most inopportune times, usually when she’s coming around the corner with something he just might humor her by trying, surely? She can’t entirely blame him, not after what Shiro went through working under the _Galra_ label, but it is frustrating. She’s not going to push; she learned her lesson fast and hard on that one. The resulting threat of Keith nearly quitting, which oddly enough meant Lance for some reason, as well as Matt who was already out the door after Shiro, which meant Pidge which meant Hunk and if Hunk was going that meant Shay down in storefront and it just wasn’t worth the fight. Allura will try again, in time. In the meantime if she keeps designing things that would perfectly compliment Shiro’s skin tone, or highlight that chiseled jaw of his or that mysterious scar, that’s not her fault, now is it?

 

 **+1.** Successful?

It’s perspective, partly, but there’s also truth. They can pay the bills, and keep the lights on, and everyone went home with a Christmas bonus this year, small but true. They’re not quite a household name, but maybe they’re about to be. The actress Nyma requested one of Allura’s designs to wear on the red carpet in February. One of the stores Allura had to close after her father’s passing is set to re-open next week. “Success”, however you define it, can’t be far. Their major competitor should be worried, really. If you’re going to take down a major fashion empire, not just for yourself but for what they’ve done to your business, your employees, your heritage, your _friends_ \- maybe “success” takes time.

Successful?

They’re getting there.

 _Galra_ had better watch out.

**Author's Note:**

> Original post can be found [here](http://butteredonions.tumblr.com/post/154125717713/au-where-voltron-is-a-designer-fashion-label-who). Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment if you liked, and feel free to come say hello. :)
> 
>  **EDIT:** NOW WITH ART?! queen117 drew a fabulous [model Lance](http://thequeen117.tumblr.com/post/154603426404/a-colored-version-of-my-submission-for)! Thank you so much!! Check him out!


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